An armed robbery trial started Tuesday for two men accused of a stickup at the Beehive strip club in Salem Township that paid for a spree to Las Vegas in August 2007.
Joseph C. Zvara, 30, and Jamie Collingwood, 29, both of Greensburg, are charged with robbery, gun possession and other offenses for an alleged crime spree that ended with their arrests in Nevada.
Prosecutors contend Zvara and Collingwood broke into a house in Hempfield and stole two guns in late July, then barged into the Beehive several days later, putting a gun to the bouncer's head and demanding two bags of money.
They got $1,100 from the heist, according to police.
On Aug. 4, Zvara and Collingwood stole a car from the Sheetz gas station in New Stanton, police said. They were arrested a month later in Las Vegas when police located the stolen car.
"This is like a movie made from Hollywood, these three separate crimes. But I can assure you this isn't a screenplay," Assistant District Attorney Mike Pacek told jurors in an opening statement.
Jurors yesterday saw video from a surveillance camera at the Beehive showing two men, one wearing a baseball cap and another sporting a bandana on his head, pointing a gun at the club's bouncer and demanding cash.
"Two gentlemen came in and within two seconds I had a gun pointed at my head," bouncer Charles Galzarano testified.
Two dancers at the club also identified Zvara and Collingwood as the robbers yesterday.
Collingwood's attorney, Emily Smarto, in her opening statement said there was not enough evidence to convict her client.
John Ceraso, representing Zvara, deferred his opening statement until later in the trial.
The trial is expected to last about three days and will reconvene this morning before Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway.
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